(i) Mayor (or person presiding)

(ii) Members of the Cabinet

(iii) Chief Executive

Mayor

 

It gives me great pleasure to announce the names of this year’s Youth Mayor and Deputy Youth Mayor. The Youth Mayor will be Xander Payne from Archbishop McGrath Catholic High School and the Deputy Youth Mayor is G Williams of the Royal Welsh Collage of Music and Drama. Both have been part of the youth council for a few years. G Williams won the Diana Award for His Transgender awareness Training and helps with our YPOP LGBTQIA Group (YPOP is the name of the Youth LGBTQIA (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, Intersex, Asexual) Group that we run on a Monday evening from 5-6pm virtually at present).

 

Xander is one of Bridgend’s Young Ambassadors and is also looking to stand as our Welsh Youth Parliament representative. We wish them both all the best for the coming year and for their future ambitions.

 

I would like to congratulate Bridgend’s very own Paralympic champion Aled Sion Davies for yet another successful games and for representing Bridgend and Wales on the World Stage. Aled has won his third Paralympic gold medal, this time in the men’s F63 shot put event at Tokyo and was also co-captain of the Great Britain Paralympic team. He has been a great ambassador for Bridgend and Paralympic sport and will now be looking towards Paris in three years time. Aled is one of a long line of successful Bridgend based paralympian’s and will no doubt have inspired future paralympian’s also.

 

Over the summer period since out last meeting I have had the pleasure of attending a number of events along with a 60th and 65th wedding anniversary. It was great to see the work taking place as part of our School Holiday Enrichment Programme (SHEP) at both Cynffig Comprehensive School and Coleg Cymunedol y Dderwen.  I also enjoyed having school dinner with the children at these events.

 

I attended Pencoed Library for the launch of the Wales Co-Operative Centre IPad Loan scheme being made available to Carers in the County Borough. A great scheme and one that can be accessed via our libraries. I also learnt what a great online resource we now have at our libraries with free access to magazines.

 

At the end of August I attended the annual Gilfach Goch Forestry Fun Run along with the Mayor of RCT and it was well attended with numerous children taking part. Medals were presented to all that took part with trophies for those in first and second place in 3 age categories.

 

On 26 August at 8.10am, I attended the annual Parc Slip Memorial Service along with the Mayoress and it was a moving tribute to the 112 men and boys who lost their life in the dreadful explosion that took place in 1892, which each and every one of their names being read out, with the Leader being part of the group of people reading out the names.

 

September started off with a visit to Laleston Gardening Club 50th Anniversary celebrations along with the Leader and it was great to see some sort of normality returning with the wonderful display of flowers and vegetables and a lovely cream tea was provided. Cllr. Pam Davies was also in attendance and all three of us ended up joining the gardening club as members.

 

On Thursday 9th September it was 999 Flag Day and along with the Leader and High Sherriff we raised the flag at the Civic Offices in honour of the 7,500 emergency service workers who have lost their lives in their line of duty and we held a 2 minute silence in honour of them.

 

As for raising funds for the two groups I am supporting (Lads & Dads and Bridgend Carers Centre), the Mayoress Tandem Skydive was postponed due to the weather in July and is now scheduled to take place on Saturday 27th November 2021. Not sure what chance there is of clear skies, but fingers crossed. If not held on that date, it will then be scheduled for March 2022. Many thanks to those who have sponsored the Skydive to date and it’s never too late to make a donation via the Council website on the Mayors page.

 

I hope to soon be announcing a Charity Pre-Christmas buffet at Bridgend RFC (Brewery Field) where there will be a buffet, comedy hypnotist along with music and entertainment to follow at the end of November. Tickets will be available soon.

 

I would draw your attention to an item of business, it has been requested that the meeting of Subject Overview and Scrutiny Committee 3 scheduled for Wednesday, 29th September 2021 be moved to Monday 4th October.  With the agreement of the Chair this has been actioned and a new calendar appointment has been sent and Members are therefore asked to note the change.

 

Lastly and to end of a positive note, I would like to congratulate Councillor Cheryl Green and her husband Tom on celebrating their golden wedding anniversary recently, we all pass on our best wishes on reaching this impressive milestone.

 

To Councillor Stephen Smith and his partner Gemma I would like to say congratulations on your marriage, we wish you all the very best for a long and happy future together.

 

Deputy Leader

 

As you know, Bridgend County Borough already has one of the highest recycling rates in Wales, and we quickly rose from 46 per cent back in 2010 to our current, steady 69 per cent.

 

Now, latest figures have revealed that more than 155,000 tonnes of waste have been recycled and diverted away from landfill over the last four years.

 

Within that figure is just over 26,000 tonnes of paper and card, 17,500 tonnes of glass, 12,000 tonnes of plastic, 7,700 tonnes of metal, and 3,700 tonnes of electrical waste.

 

To help you visualise that, I am told that it is the equivalent in weight of 26,000 elephants, and that on average, each person has generated 856kg of waste during the four-year period.

 

The purple bag scheme has recycled more than 4,350 tonnes and has converted cellulose fibres into fibre boards, acoustic panelling and more, while 32,000 tonnes of food have been converted into electricity to power our local communities and produce fertiliser.

 

Our Cleaner Streets team have cleared just over 4,000 tonnes of fly-tipped waste, while more than 3,200 tonnes of garden waste has been taken away for composting.

 

I’m sure you will agree that these are highly impressive figures, and with final preparations also underway for the opening of the new community recycling centre at Pyle, they are set to rise even higher, especially now that a new contractor is in place who will recycle waste collected from public litter bins.

 

I would like to thank everyone who has helped to make this such a success, but especially the Kier collectors keep the service running by walking between seven and ten miles and carrying up to four tonnes of waste every day, and our local residents who have made such a fantastic recycling effort.

 

I’d also like to remind members that next Monday will see the launch of our annual budget consultation where we will once more be inviting local residents to help us to develop our spending priorities for 2022-23.

 

This time, the budget consultation will focus upon a longer-term vision for the county borough while still covering traditional areas such as investment in schools, roads, regeneration projects, energy schemes, council tax levels, support for businesses, tourism and the economy, how online services might be developed further, and more.

 

The annual budget consultation forms an important element in our efforts to deliver effective and efficient services that are right for our communities, and I am sure that members will want to encourage their constituents to take part and have their say.

 

The consultation will be available in a variety of formats, and the deadline for responses will be 14 November 2021. Further details will be available soon, including on the consultation page of the Council’s corporate website.

 

Cabinet Member – Communities

 

Members will be aware that our £2.7m programme of investment into the local highways network is ongoing and is making strong progress across the county borough.

 

This year’s investment programme is targeting 40 local roads. While some temporary inconvenience is unavoidable, every effort is made to minimise disruption, and to complete the work as quickly and as efficiently as possible.

 

I am sure that members will also welcome news that a number of children’s play areas are set to benefit from a £700,000 programme of refurbishment which will allow more than 30 play areas to receive much needed investment.

 

This first phase will begin early next year and will target play areas in Aberkenfig, Bettws, Blackmill, Blaengarw, Brackla, Bridgend, Bryncethin, Caerau, Cefn Cribwr, Cefn Glas, Cornelly, Coytrahen, Evanstown, Kenfig Hill, Pencoed, Llangeinor, Lewistown, Nantymoel, Ogmore Vale, Pen-y-Fai, Nottage and Wildmill.

 

The work will range from general refurbishment to the re-laying of safer surfaces and the installation of new equipment.

 

Funding is being sought for the next phase of this scheme, and I am looking forward to bringing you further details soon.

 

Finally, I’d like to confirm that Carn Rovers FC have become the latest sports club to have successfully completed a community asset transfer.

 

They have taken on the management of Cwm Garw Pavilion and Playing Fields in the Garw Valley after agreeing a 35-year lease with the council.

 

Funding of almost £11,000 is being provided to support them in making improvements, and a further contribution of £10,000 is being provided to support the purchase of new pitch maintenance equipment.

 

I’d like to congratulate the club, and to take the opportunity to encourage further organisations to come and find out how they might work with us to protect and improve other community facilities within their areas.

 

Cabinet Member – Education and Regeneration

 

Across the county borough, pupils have returned to school following one of the most unavoidably disruptive periods in education that we have ever experienced.

 

Schools and officers of the council have gone above and beyond in trying to minimise this disruption, and have done a fantastic job under some very difficult and challenging circumstances.

 

Throughout it all, the health, safety and well-being of pupils has remained our top priority. This continues to be the case, and their return to school has been supported in a number of ways.

 

While Welsh Government no longer requires the routine use of face coverings within the classroom for either staff or learners, schools and other educational settings have been able to determine how they should be used in areas where there is likely to be more social mixing, such as in school libraries, common rooms and more.

 

The exception has been school transport, where pupils in Year Seven and above are required to wear face coverings while travelling on school transport vehicles.

 

All secondary school pupils were asked to undertake a lateral flow test before their first day back, and to continue to do so twice a week thereafter.

 

Schools also have a range of specific processes in place along with risk assessments, hygiene procedures, adequate ventilation and more.

 

To support pupils, parents, guardians and carers, Frequently Asked Questions have been published on the council website which cover issues ranging from uniforms and school dinners to transport and health and safety.

 

In the event that local risks differ from the national risk rating, we will work alongside schools and partners to put additional measures in place to prioritise the ongoing health, safety and wellbeing of all pupils.                     

 

Cabinet Member – Future Generations and Wellbeing

 

Members will be aware that there continues to be a high demand for temporary accommodation all across Bridgend County Borough.

 

To help meet this demand, the council has entered into a new partnership with Cartrefi Hafod for a new private rent-leasing scheme.

 

The scheme aims to recruit private landlords, and to lease their properties for use as temporary accommodation for homeless people.

 

With lease agreements of between one to three years, landlords will receive guaranteed rental income for the duration of the contract and will be paid monthly in arrears.

 

They remain responsible for all structural and external repairs and fixtures and fittings, and must also ensure that relevant gas and electrical safety checks are carried out annually.

 

However, Cartrefi Hafod can assist with this, and all participating properties are fully managed and are regularly inspected.

 

The scheme also includes a round the clock repair service, no set-up fees, free garden maintenance and more, all provided at no extra charge to the landlord.

 

As well as providing an income and keeping buildings in use, the scheme aims to reduce homelessness, and to provide much-needed temporary homes for both families and individuals while they await permanent accommodation.

 

I hope that members will give their support to this scheme, and that you will advise any landlords within your ward areas to find out more by visiting the Cartrefi Hafod website.

 

Chief Executive

 

I delivered a report to Cabinet yesterday where I outlined progress that has been made around the council’s future operating model, and I thought members would find it informative if I just recapped some of that progress here.

 

As you know, during the coronavirus pandemic, we found ourselves in a position where we had to adapt very quickly to rapidly changing circumstances.

 

The lockdown period meant that the vast majority of council staff had to be mobilised and equipped to work from home.

 

Over the months that followed, we successfully delivered an increasing number of council services remotely or digitally, and were able to study how we might learn from this experience to make fundamental changes to how we operate in future.

 

Following this ongoing review, we are now developing a new blended model of working which could see staff dividing their time between both home and office.

 

Members will be aware that Welsh Government has set new targets of enabling at least 30 per cent of the workforce to operate from home by 2024, even though current guidance says you can continue to work from home where possible.

 

The new model that we are currently working on reflects this ambition, and is intended to offer greater choice and flexibility.

 

It is also designed to increase the efficiency of services for customers while continuing to effectively target those who are most in need.

 

There are a number of potential benefits associated with this, including reductions in traffic, pollution and sickness absence levels, financial savings, greater well-being among our staff, improved retention and recruitment within key service areas, and greater alignment with the council’s ongoing digitalisation strategy.

 

With more than 6,000 staff delivering up to 800 different Council services, the new model will mainly affect employees who are office-based rather than those who work across areas such as schools or within depots.

 

It goes without saying that we remain extremely proud of the way in which staff have pulled together to meet the ongoing challenges of Covid-19.

 

This represented a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make fundamental changes and improvements to the working culture of the council, and follows hot on the heels of the most recent staff survey.

 

The results of the survey have so far been very encouraging. To give you an idea of some of the headline figures, more than a thousand staff responded to the survey.

 

86 per cent stated that they enjoyed their role, and 67 per cent felt valued at work.

 

73 per cent told us that they were satisfied with the council as an employer, and 66 per cent had discussed their learning and development needs with their line manager within the last 12 months.

 

Overall, staff were positive about line management, with 74 per cent delivering positive responses about support from their line manager and 82 per cent citing opportunities for two-way communication to discuss and raise ideas and issues.

 

85 per cent of staff stated that they felt safe carrying out their role during Covid-19, and 83 per cent felt reassured that the council is taking the appropriate health and safety measures to minimise risks associated in the workplace.

 

At 72 per cent, the majority of respondents felt that corporate communication during the Covid-19 pandemic has been effective.

 

In relation to staff well-being, 59 per cent told us that they were able to meet the demands of their job within their working hours, and 69 per cent said they were comfortable with the work demands placed upon them in their role. 

 

Of particular interest in relation to our plans for developing a new model of working was the fact that 84 per cent either agreed or strongly agreed that they can work productively within a remote environment.

 

Overall, when comparing the seven questions used to measure trends between the three surveys, staff were more positive in 2021 than in previous surveys carried out in 2020 and 2018.

 

We will be studying these results very carefully and will be taking account of them in the development of the new model of working.

 

Engagement with staff and trade unions on the proposals is underway, and further reports will be forthcoming which will provide firmer details around what shape the new model will take.

 

I will of course keep members fully updated as this progresses.